Center sill turnover fixture



May 25,1943. A. H. HARTW'IG i 2,320,079

CENTER sILL TUIRN-ovER FIXTURE Fi'ledAug. 1,l 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l I NV ENTOR.

/f/'s ATTORNEY.

May 25, 1943- A. H. xiAR-rwlaA CENTER sILL TURN-OVER FIXTURE Filed Aug. 1, 1940'l @Q y M 4 Sheets-Shea?l 3 rMaly 25, 1943. A. H. HARTWIG CENTER slLE EURE-OVER FIXTURE 4 sheets-sheet 4 Filed Aug.I 1, 1940 /r/'s ATTORNEY.

Patented May 25, 1943 UNITED stares: PATENT OFFICE CENTER SELL TURNOVER FIXTURE Arthur H. Hartwig, Michigan City, Ind., assignor to Pullman-Standardl Car Manufacturing Company,Y Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application August 1, 1940, Serial No. 349,059

y (Cl. 28-89) i Claims.

This invention relates to a turnover iixture for the center sills of railway-car underframes for use during the operation of Iassembling various partsthereon by welding.

The invention contemplates a center sill turnover iix'ture used for welding center Vsills in the final assembly operation, arranged with manipulating rolls having xed tread portions which Contact pairs of supporting rollers arranged on spaced supporting stands adjacent the respective bolster positions of thefsill to provide for rotation of the fixture with the sill mounted therewithin to facilitate the varioussteps inthe welding operations;

An object of the invention is the provision of a turnover xture having av manipulating roll adapted to receive a center sill yand provided with a pair of locking gates which, when'closed, con- -stitute a part of the fixed' tread portion of the roll which contacts pairs of supporting rollers adapted .to provide for rotation of the fixture with the center sill? mounted therein.

The foregoing and other'objects of the invention are attained bythe mechanism illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in'which;

Fig. 1 i-s a general perspective viewfoi a pair of turnover fixtures in accordance with this invention with the center 'sill mounted therein and showing the locking gates on-one manipulating roll in closedpo'sition andthe gates on the other roll in uHLOpen` position;

Fig. 2' is` an elevational view of a supporting stand and turnoverl fixture with a center sill mounted' therein, and having parts broken away better .to illustrate the mechanism for locking the closing gates;

Fig. 3 is a side'elevationalview of a` supporting stand and manipulating roll;

' Fig. 4 isl a-Vsectionalviewthrough the manipulating yroll and supporting stand taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, illustrating the interlocking nature of the manipulating roll with the supporting stand and showing the index pins for holding the roll in fixed? position for loa-ding;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the manipulating roll and supporting standl showing the locking gates inclosed position infull lines, and diagrammatically illustrated in--their full-open position in broken lines; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 2 showing the supporting seat between the webs of the manipulatingroll for receiving Ka center sill.

The present invention has to do with the'pro` vision of. a turnover fixture designed for ready handling yof the center sill of a railway ycar underframe during construction and intended primarilyto provide means for enabling the center sill to be disposed in the Various positions necessary to .the proper placement of the Sill to the best advantage for the attachment of various parts thereto by welding.

In the drawings, I represents a .turnoverxture includingv a supporting Ystand constructed of angle members vwelded together and comprising pairs of vertical supporting angle members II and I2v at each side of the stand connected at their base by .anchor members I3 and adjacent the upper portion thereof by angle members M and disposed at each side of .thesupporting stand and connected from side to' side at the bottom by angle members I5, and at the top by members IS to provide a unitary frame adapted to besecured to' a supporting surface as'at IT. The top connecting members I6y afford means for receiving spaced axlesv I8 for supporting rollers Il` hereinafter .to be described. The axles I8 arev carried in trunnions I9, secured' on the angle members I6 by welding, land havingset screws 2I adapted securely to hold the axles in xed positionfThe axles I8, are supported in the trunnions 2l at theirY opposite ends, andbearing blocks 22 support the axles intermediate their ends and serve to maintain the rollers 20 in proper spaced relation Vfor thereception and guidance of a manipulating roll hereinafter referred to and are supported Afrom and secured to the angle members I4 by welding, as at 23. All of the Various parts of the supporting stands are preferably fabricated by mea-nsof welding, but may be constructed -in any manner desired to carry the supporting rollers ZIJ 'as shown and fabricated by any preferred method. v

The supporting rollers 20, are adapted to rotate upon V*the fixed axles I8', and are disposed in position at the four upper corners ofthe supporting stand to provide spaced pairs of supporting rollers having their respective tread portions 'in alignment across the stand and adapted to receive a manipulating roll 25 which is wholly supported thereby` and in Yrotative relation thereto. The manipulating roll 25, comprises spaced webs 26, having aligned cut-out portions 21 therein, to the general contour of center sill 24 and held in spaced relation by means of a center sill supportingV web 28 and by hinge plates 29 and 39 welded therebetween at the upper extremities of the web plates. The web plates 28, at their perimeter, are provided with supplemental tread portions-3i) secured thereto on their respective outer sides by means of bolts 3| having countersunk heads. The tread portions 30 of the manipulating roll are adapted to engage the treads of the supporting rollers 20, and are maintained in proper position with respect to the rollers by the guiding flanges thereon. Approximately at the center of the supporting stand the treads 30 are each adapted to interlock with a safety lug 32 secured to the top angle members |6 of the supporting stand at respectively opposite sides of the manipulating rolls 25 by means of bolts 33 in position to overlie the inner surfaces of the respective tread members and prevent displacement of the roll by forces due to possible longitudinal thrusts by the center sill. The center sill supporting web: 28 is reinforced by gusset plates 34 disposed therebeneath and is provided on its upper surface with a member 35 providing a seat for the center sill and secured to the web 28 by means of bolts 3G. The seat member 35 is adapted to be adjustably mounted on the web 28 by means of shims 31, which provide for the disposition of the center sill 24 in lche exact center of the manipulating roll in order that a balanced assembly might be afforded. The spaced web plates 26 of the manipulating roll, due to the opening 21 for the center sill, provide a member of somewhat U-shape and comprises merely a segmental portion of a circle, which is completed by means of locking gates 49 and 4| hinged to the web plates. The hinges for the locking gates comprise hinge pins 42 secured to the respective gates and of suicient length to pass through both of the spaced hinge plates 29 and 39 at each side of the center sill opening 21. Stop washers 43 are disposed on the lowermost ends of the hinge pins beneath the hinge plates 29 to Vinsure their retention therein and secured thereto by welding. The stop washers are also adapted to provide limiting stops in the full-open positionof the gates at 90 from the closed position thereof by engagement with the respectively adjacent webs 26 and for this purpose it will be noted that the washers are not round but provided with extensions adapted to engage the Webs of the manipulating roll to prevent further rotation of the hinge pins as best shown in Fig. 3.

The hinge pins 42 penetrate the lowermost supporting web 44 of the respective locking gates and are secured therein by means of weld 46 disposed on the upper side of each web. The gates 4U'and 4| have web plates 45 disposed in the same plane with the respective web plates 26 andare maintained in proper spaced relation ior co-operation with the web plates 26 by the h supporting webs 44, and locking web plates 46 and 41. Tread portions 38 adapted to form continuations of t-he tread portions 30 are secured on the locking gates, also by means of bolts 3| having countersunk heads, and are adapted to provide means for continuous rotation of the manipulating roll 25 through 360. The side webs 45 of the locking gates, at their meeting edges in the closed position of the gates, are disposed in offset relationship as best shown in Fig. 5, thereby to provide abutments, one to the other, affording means to insure parallelism of the gates 40 and 4| and complete alignment thereof with the web plates 26. Since the lockinggates 40 and 4| are adapted to rotate 90 from the closed position in respectively opposite directions it will be seen that the offset relationship of their meeting edges provides a positive limit of movement in predetermined association each with the other and with the webs 26.

In the closed position of the gates 49 and 4| the locking webs 46 and 41 are disposed in overlapping relation and are adapted each to engage the inner side of the outside web 45 Vof the respectively opposite member as best shown in Fig. 5. In their overlapped area, the webs 46 and 41 are provided with aligned perforations 48 adapted to receive a locking pin 49 which maintains the locking gates in closed position to hold the center sill 24 in place within opening 21 in the manipulating roll 25. A stop 5|, on the locking pin acts as a limit of movement therefor. The locking pin is operated by means of a handle 50 fulcrumed on the web 41 by means of an upstanding bifurcated lug 52 in which the handle is pivoted, and. which has pivotal connection with the locking pin 49 at 53. The pin 49 is maintained in locking position by means of a coil spring 54, engaging the handle 50 at the opposite side of the fulcrum 52 from the locking pin, to exert a force thereon urging the pin -49 to its fully engaged position with the limit stop 5| in engagement with the web 41. The supporting web 44 for the respective locking gates, and the webs 39 through which the hinge pins 42 project, are so disposed as to provide ybearings upon which the gates are adapted to rotate.

The manipulating roll 25 with its supporting stand is adapted to be used in pairs for supporting a center sill and preferably disposed adjacent to the respective bolster positions of the sill for the proper support and ready manipulation thereof, during the various steps in the operation of welding different parts thereon. The axes of the respective manipulating rolls and, of course, of the supporting rollers, are disposed in absolute longitudinal alignment for full realization of the anti-friction qualities and other possibilities of the arrangement and while the supporting stands, disposed in spaced relation, have no direct connection therebetween, the connections I1 to the common supporting surface maintain the assemblies rigidly in alignment to provide for ready operation of the manipulating rolls due to their uniaxial relation with a center sill functioning as a shaft between the rolls but carried thereby. When it is desired to insert the center sill 24 in the spaced manipulating rolls 25, the rolls are arranged in upright relation with the openings 21 disposed upwardly, and the locking gates 40 and 4| are then swung to their full-open position as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 5, whereupon the center sill may be lowered into the openings 21, and the gates then closed and secured in that position by the locking mechanism. With the center sill thus secured, it will be seen that it may readily be rotated to any position desired for working thereon, without any restrictions whatever. During the open position of the gates 40 and 4|, while the center sill 24 is being loaded into position, the rolls 25 are maintained in xed, upright position by means of retractile index pins 55 mounted in the safety lugs 32 and adapted to be engaged through co-operating openings 56 in the respective webs 26 to align the openings 21 in upright relation and maintain the rolls in fixed position to receive the center sill. The manipulating rolls may be operated by means of a suitable motor or other power source (not shown), if desired. From the foregoing, it will be seen that there has been provided a turnover fixture comprising spaced manipulating rolls in uniaxial relation supported in rollers for coincidental rotation with a car underframe part mounted therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A turnover xture comprising spaced supporting rollers, a manipulating roll supported in said rollers and having a xed tread portion in engagement therewith adapted to provide for rotation of said roll, an opening in the roll for receiving a part to be turned, and a pivoted gate for closing said opening Which, when closed, constitutes a part of said xed tread portion.

2. A turnover fixture comprising spaced supporting rollers, a manipulating roll supported in said rollers and having a fixed tread portion in engagement therewith adapted to provide for rotation of said roll, an opening in the roll for receiving a part to be turned, and a pair of gates hingedly mounted on the manipulating roll for closing said opening which, when closed, constitute part of said xed tread portion.

3. A center sill turnover xture comprising a supporting stand, supporting rollers disposed in pairs and rotatively carried by the stand and provided with tread portions having outwardly disposed guiding flanges, a manipulating roll supported in said rollers having xed tread portions in engagement with the tread portions ci the rollers and disposed between said guiding flanges, an opening in the manipulating roll for receiving a center sill rotatively supported therein, a. pair of closing gates in the manipulating roll hingedly mounted with respect thereto for securing said center sill therein, said gates, when closed, constituting part of the Xed tread portions of the manipulating roll.

4. A center sill turnover xture comprising a supporting stand, supporting rollers carried by the stand and provided with tread portions, a manipulating roll supported in said rollers having xed tread portions in engagement with the tread portions of the rollers, an opening in the manipulating roll for receiving a center sill rotatively supported therein, a pair of closing gates in the manipulating roll hingedly mounted with respect thereto for securing said center sill therein, said gates, when closed, constituting part of the fixed tread portions of the manipulating roll.

ARTHUR. H. HARTWIG. 

